Fire
by sammit-janet
Summary: Prompt: Superheroes


"It's okay baby, mommy's here, I'm right here," I tried to calm my ten-year old little girl, but it was really hard to keep the terror out of my own voice. "We're gonna be just fine, we'll be out of here soon, I promise."

"Mommy, I'm scared, and my arms hurt," tears were rolling down her face, leaving trails in the dirt and grime that were caked there.

"I know baby, but I'm gonna get us out of here," I looked for some way to untie the ropes that were around my wrists, but there was nothing. I tried not to let the fear show on my face so that she wouldn't panic.

Three days ago we had started out on our hiking trip and she had been so excited. I had decided to take her out of school for one year and walk the Appalachian Trail all the way from Maine to Georgia. I thought it would be a great learning experience for her. Last night we had been sleeping in our tents when I heard her crying for me. She insisted on sleeping in her own tent, said it made her feel more "grown up". I zipped open my tent door and walked over to hers, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Emily? What's wrong honey?" I opened her tent and she was gone. My heart dropped and I screamed her name. I heard her yell for me again, but this time it was out in the woods. What was she doing out there? I started running towards her but it seemed like she was getting further and further away. Suddenly I was knocked on the back of the head and everything went black.

When I came to, we were tethered to the ceiling by our wrists, and there were bodies hanging all around us. Emily had screamed and cried and tried to break free for 10 minutes before she realized I was there too. My heart was breaking. My daughter was so scared and there was nothing I could do about it. What the hell was going on? Who brought us here?

I heard voices coming from far away and saw flashlights. Should I scream or were these the people who had brought us here? I didn't know what to do.

"Emily, close your eyes baby, pretend like you're not awake okay?"

She nodded her head and closed her eyes tight, hanging her head down. I did the same and waited, terrified.

"Sam, if the Wendigo is in here we are screwed man," I heard a young man's voice. Wendigo? What the hell is that?

"Dean, if some of his victims are alive we have to rescue them, okay? We can't just leave them here."

Rescue? These were good guys! "Help!" I screamed. "We're in here!"

They came running and skidded to a halt at the entrance to the cave we were in. They shined their flashlights on my face and I yelled again, "Please help us!" They both started running towards me, "My daughter, get my daughter first!"

The taller one ran to Emily and cut her down while the other one ran to me.

"Hey, I'm Dean and that's my brother Sam. We're going to get you out of here okay? Just try and keep your voice down, we don't want to alert that thing that we're here," I nodded and he cut my ropes and helped me stand, my legs were so wobbly.

"Mommy!" Emily cried and ran into my arms.

"Shh baby, we have to be quiet okay, or the mean thing that brought us here will come back," I rubbed the sweat and tears off her face and she nodded.

"Okay, let's go. Sam, get the fire ready just in case we bump into that damn thing on the way out."

We started walking out when suddenly we heard a god-awful screeching noise.

"It knows we're here," Dean said.

"What does? What is that thing?" I pressed my daughter tight up against me.

"It's called a Wendigo, we don't have time to explain, just run!" Dean passed Emily to Sam and he scooped her up in his arms. Dean grabbed my arm and started dragging me, running so fast I could barely keep up.

I saw light at the end of the tunnel and sobbed in joy, we were almost free. Just then a huge figure stood in front of us, tall and skinny, and oh god, what was wrong with its face? This had to be the Wendigo.

"Sam!" Dean yelled and started grabbing for something in the backpack he was wearing. Sam curled his body around Emily and the Wendigo knocked him against the wall. He crumpled to the floor, Emily still cradled in his arms. I screamed and grabbed Dean's arm, was my little girl alright?

Suddenly there was light and heat and the Wendigo was in flames, screeching and howling. The Wendigo collapsed into a pile of ash and Dean dropped the homemade flame thrower and ran to Sam with me right on his heels. He dropped to his knees and put his hand on Sam's shoulder, "Sam? Sammy, you okay?"

"Emily?" I knelt down beside Dean.

I held my breath until Sam answered, obviously in pain, "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Mommy," Emily cried out, reaching for me. I pulled her out of Sam's arms and hugged her to me, rubbing her back.

"Shh, it's okay, it's over now."

Dean helped Sam stand and looked back over his shoulder at me, "Let's get the hell out of here."

We made it out of the tunnel and I almost cried at the warm sunlight hitting my face.

"Can you stand baby?" I asked Emily.

"Yes mommy," she said, so I placed her gently on the ground. Dean helped Sam over to a rock and he sat down, grabbing his side, obviously in pain.

"Here, let me look. I was almost an RN until I got pregnant," I walked over to Sam and kneeled down in front of him. He looked at me, unsure. "Trust me," I smiled. He moved his coat back and I felt his ribs until I found the one that made him hiss in pain. "Yep, I think you have a broken rib. You better get to a hospital."

"Thanks," he smiled and pulled his coat closed again.

"So, are you going to tell me what the hell that thing was?" I asked. I sat down on a rock and pulled Emily into my lap.

"It was a Wendigo," Dean explained. "They used to be human but once they eat…human flesh…they become something else."

"Are you saying that thing was going to…eat us?" I clutched Emily tightly to me.

"He would have if we hadn't found you, yes," Sam said.

"Oh my god," I sat there in shock.

Dean cleared his throat, "What were you guys doing out here in the woods anyway?"

"Hiking the Appalachian Trail. I thought it would be a good learning experience for Emily," I shook my head.

"Well…" Dean smiled.

"Yeah, I think this trip is over. We're going home," I stood and grabbed Emily's hand.

"Hey, hold on, we'll escort you back to your car," Dean stood and Sam stood also, wincing as he did.

"Are you sure? He really needs to get to a hospital."

"I'll be all right. I want to make sure you guys get back safe," Sam smiled.

Suddenly Emily ran away from me and grabbed Sam's hand, smiling up at him. "Are you guys superheroes?"

Sam and Dean exchanged a look, I couldn't quite guess what they were thinking, but there was definitely a silent conversation going on there.

"We sure are Emily," he touched her nose with his finger and she laughed.


End file.
